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The Facts And Fictions Of Nikola Tesla, Everyone's Favorite Inventor

January 6, 2017

Written byAshley Hamer

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Nikola Tesla is known as one of history's most prolific inventors. Perhaps due to the fact that history was late to celebrate him at the same level of contemporaries like Thomas Edison, modern-day internet lore has made him somewhat of a mythical figure. Unfortunately, Tesla didn't invent everything that certain parts of the internet say he did—starting with AC power.

Likewise, Tesla didn't invent radio. Along with Guglielmo Marconi, Tesla developed a device that enabled wireless communication in 1896, which eventually won Marconi the Nobel Prize. But that was after Russian physicist Alexander Popov demonstrated his own radio receiver in 1895, and — again, like most inventions — both devices were based on the the developments of many, many other scientists that came before. The same goes for radar: along with Marconi, Heinrich Hertz and Christian Hülsmeyer made large contributions to the technology before Tesla came on the scene. Both of these inventions are why many say that without Tesla, we wouldn't have Wi-Fi, which is true. But without scientists like Michael Faraday, Tesla wouldn't have had AC power. Technology is a chicken-and-egg problem, and it's rare that one man is responsible for a single invention.

Then Why Celebrate Him?

This isn't to say that Tesla doesn't deserve celebration. He was indeed a prolific inventor, one who persevered through many difficulties and wasn't properly recognized during his lifetime. His work helped lead to the development of many things we use today, including X-rays and the remote control. And David Bowie played him in a movie, so that's cool.